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Add a little flair to any dinner with elegant napkin folds. Folding napkins is a time-honored tradition used in restaurants and homes alike. It's simple, classy, and easy to master. Read on for several different instructions on how to fold a napkin.

Steps

Method1

Goblet Fan

1

Fold the napkin in half to form a long rectangle.

2

Starting at one short end, fold the napkin like an accordion all the way to the opposite end.

3

Holding one folded end, place it into your drinking glass. Let the napkin fan over the top of the glass.

Method2

Pyramid

1

Lay the napkin out in front of you. If your napkin flops down easily, ironing it with a little bit of light starch should help this process.

2

Fold the napkin across diagonally. Turn the folded napkin so that the tip of the napkin is facing directly in front of you.

3

Fold the right corner down to meet the tip of the napkin. Make sure that this fold creates a clean center line in the middle of the napkin.

4

Fold the left corner down to meet the tip of the napkin, mirroring the last step. The napkin should now look like a diamond.

5

Turn the napkin over, keeping the open end of the napkin away from you.

6

Fold the farthest point of the diamond back over itself, creating a triangle. The tip of the triangle should be pointing down.

7

Fold the napkin along the center seam, right to left.

8

Prop it up like a tent. If your napkin is floppy and won't stay propped up, you may need a little starch.

Method3

Bishop's Hat

1

Lay the napkin out in front of you. If your napkin flops down easily, ironing it with a little bit of light starch should help this process.

2

Fold the napkin in half by bringing the top end down. You should have a rectangle now.

3

Bring the top right corner down to the middle-bottom of the napkin.

4

Bring the bottom left corner up to the middle-top of the napkin. You should have a parallelogram now.

5

Flip the napkin over and rearrange it so that the top left and bottom right edges are sticking out.

6

Fold the bottom of the napkin up and towards the top half. The edges should all be meeting each other, except for a stray triangle at the bottom left of the napkin.

7

Gently bring out the flap on the right so that it forms another triangle on the bottom right.

8

Bring the top left corner and tuck it underneath the triangle on the right. The left triangle is now folded in half.

9

Flip the triangle over so that the two points are now facing up.

10

Fold the right edge into the left flap. The napkin should be completely symmetrical again.

11

Push the folds in the center of the hat down so that the base of the bishop's hat is circular.

12

Finished.

Method4

Basic Silverware Pouch

1

Lay the napkin out in front of you.

2

Fold the napkin in half by bringing the top end down. You should have a rectangle now.

3

Fold the napkin again to create a square. Move the right end over the left end.

4

Turn the napkin around so that the open corner is facing top-left.

5

Bring the top fold of the top-left corner of the napkin down diagonally to the bottom-right.

6

Flip the triangle over so that the open corner is now facing top-right.

7

Fold the right side over about 1/3 of the way and crease the fold.

8

Fold the left side over about 1/3 of the way and fit it into the little fold created at the bottom right.

9

Flip the napkin over again and arrange any utensils inside the napkin.

To fold a napkin so that you can put silverware in it, begin by laying the napkin flat in front of you. Fold it in half horizontally so that it looks like a rectangle, and then fold it over again, right end over left. Next, turn the napkin so that the open corner is facing the top-left. Bring that corner down diagonally to the bottom right, then flip the entire napkin over again. Finally, fold this square in thirds and flip it over to reveal the perfect pocket for your tableware. To learn other shapes to fold a napkin into, such as a pyramid or bishop's hat, keep reading the article!

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wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 16 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time.